Video Cassettes
by neongreenleaves
Summary: Gamzee sits alone in his apartment, his mind blank. Outside, a package arrives with 11 cassettes inside. He watches as his friends appear on screen... human!stuck


Anika Bateman

11/5/2012

The Box

He watched the cars passes his flat, one after another, their horns blasting as he stared silently. His apartment was quiet against the traffic outside, his pesterchum log holding no new messages. None. This was the third week in a row, and not even his best friend, Karkat, had contacted him.

He sat next to the window, chilled, as he pondered over nothing whatsoever. Gamzee was waiting for anything to happen. He was lonely. Everyone was gone. He missed them, especially Tavros (his crush). Gamzee smiled sadly at the thought of the young boy in the wheelchair.

He stood up slowly, cracking his spine and yawning. To the left of him, his computer sat blankly, the screen shining with nothing. No bleeps or plips sounded.

Gamzee walked out of his flat, and onto the steps outside. He sat down, head in hands, with his mind blank as he blearily looked at the street. People glanced his way awkwardly when they saw his clown face and baggy clothes. He hardly cared.

Buses passed, cars, vans, and even a weird buggy car. And then came the UPS truck. Gamzee stared at it without care, at least until it slowed down in front of his steps. Quickly, a man in a suit jumped out with a package, rushed up to him, and shoved a box into his hands. He asked for a signature, and Gamzee only did as he was told, cradling the thing in his hands.

He stared at the cardboard thing in his hands as the man rushed away. He stood momentarily, confused, then stumbled back indoors and set the box on the floor.

'_Who even sent this?'_

He noticed a tag with only 4 words on it:

'To: Gamzee

From: Tavros'

_ 'Huh? Tavros?_' Gamzee smiled widely, taking a knife in hand and slicing the cardboard open.

The package was opened thoroughly, the tape, plastic, and foam set aside.

Gamzee grinned at the contents, perplexed but happy. About 11 cassettes were inside.

He loked through each of them, labeled only with a name: Tavros, Aradia, Feferi, Karkat… all his friends were in here. There was one for everyone he knew! He picked one up, his best bud's, and flipped it in his hands.

He took the tape and walked over to his TV. (It was an old thing that only took these weird video tape thingies. His friends obviously knew this.

He stuck it in, and turned on the staticky screen and waited.

Karkat's face popped up on screen, and he gave a start.

The Karkat onscreen shifted awkwardly and looked around what Gamzee perceived to be his room.

"Uh… hey Gamzee…" Karkat slightly croaky voice sounded. "You might be wondering why these tapes are sent to you, and probably why we haven't contacted you."

Gamzee nodded ever so slightly, moving a tad closer to the screen.

The Karkat looked at the camera in pity, his face falling into sadness.

"Don't you dare think we don't care about you, numbnuts… We do… an awful lot. But things are popping up where we are, and it's harder and harder to keep in touch with you. You live miles away from the rest of us, and you don't quite realize what has been happening to any of us as of now." Karkat looked off to the side, his eyes starting to water up as he choked on his own words.

"Gamzee, each of us will explain to you a different part of what is happening with us, and with you. My part is only to prepare you for this information."

The Karkat onscreen took a deep breath, and put his head in his hands, starting to cry through the words. "Most of us are dead right now…."

Gamzee froze, staring at the screen in shock. He watched as Karkat cried, rage boiling over in his stomach.

_ 'No… NO.. NO!_' He took one cassette in the box and threw it at the wall, screaming.

"NO!" He collapsed on the ground, slamming his fists into the ground, his brain going over and over on Karkat's words.

_ 'It's not possible. It's not true. They are lying to me. ITS NOT TRUE.'_

He caught his breath heavily when the Karkat onscreen stopped crying and tried to speak again through his tears.

"Gamzee, don't forget, we care about you." He paused for a moment, seemingly staring directly at the shaking boy on the floor, before the screen shut off and the cassette popped out.

Gamzee sobbed recklessly on the floor, shaking with tears. He didn't want to think about his dead friends. He didn't.

He lay there on the floor, the tears slowly drying up as time passed. He didn't quite know if he was ready to watch another, not after Karkat. He didn't want it to be true at all. But there was only one way he could possible find out if his buddy was lying…

He picked up the cassette marked 'Tavros' and swapped it out with Karkat's.

Tavros' smiling face showed. Gamzee felt a little better as the younger boy started speaking.

"Hey there Gamzee!" He grinned and waved at the camera. "I'd ask how you are, but I can't really hear you." He laughed a little nervously, and Gamzee stared at his smile, saddened by it as he remembered his crush.

"Well, right now I'm pretty good at least. This whole video thing, well, it's what Karkat said earlier. Assuming you watched that first. If not, I recommend doing that." He smiled sadly at the camera, at Gamzee, and paused.

"But anyways! I'm here to tell you my part of what's been going on. Basically, what Karkat said is true. Most of us…are… well, dead." His smile faded, and he looked down. Gamzee went numb.

"I probably am too… I'm not all that strong, Gamzee, and you know this. I probably died early on." The Tavros sniffled, his eyes welling up with tears that Gamzee wasn't prepared to see.

"I do wish I could see you, Gam. It would amazing." He smiled slightly, looking more like a grimace than anything else.

"Basically, what's happening is that where I live, everyone is… fighting. It's every man for himself right now, and it's horrible. So many of us are dying Gamzee." Tavros chocked, starting to sob, and Gamzee jerked towards his TV, pleading silently for the boy to stop weeping on screen.

Gamzee couldn't bear it, and his heart practically screamed with hurt.

"I can't do this, I'm sorry, it's too hard…" Tavros quickly shut off the screen, and the cassette popped out.

_ 'Not Tavros… oh god not him….'_

He layed down, turning his head towards the pile of black videos on the floor, and the two he already watched. His hand creeped over slowly to the one labeled 'Aradia'.

He didn't know Aradia all that well, but he considered her a friend too. He popped that one in, his mind numb from all the crying.

A girl popped onscreen. She was beautiful, and had dark hair and a nice face. Gamzee looked sadly upon her, having the feeling that she had died too.

"Ahem." She looked blankly at the camera.

"Well, Gamzee, I'm aware that you should know the fact that I am probably dead too."

Gamzee stared in shock at the bluntness of this girl. It was slightly amusing, but more sad than anything.

"I probably died early on. Hah." She let out a cold laugh. "Basically, it's war between everyone. Already, more than half my town has been killed off, and I'm aware that I will probably be next. My part of the land is worse than anyone else's, it's obvious. Everyone acknowledges that fact."

Gamzee thought he heard a small explosion in the background noise, and the camera shook a bit.

Aradia looked onwards in the screen, undeterred. "I want to make sure you know, that if this war comes to where you live, you need to be prepared. Gather weapons, utilities, everything that is important. Use your instincts. This is serious."

Gamzee heard a larger explosion, and the camera shook more violently.

"Good luck, Gamzee. Be careful."

The camera shut off for the third time, and Gamzee took it out.

He popped the one marked 'Eridan' in cautiously, his emotions waning off until he felt practically nothing.

He watched as a boy with large glasses and purple highlights appeared onscreen.

"Yo, okay so there's a war. I'm not gonna die sooooo yeah. Bye."

Gamzee stared at the screen incredulously.

"Wow, what a douche." He took it out and threw it unceremoniously on the pile he watched. He hardly cared about that guy. He was always annoying.

He looked upon the pile of unwatched videos, thinking about all that was said. His friends were dead… at least, most of them probably were.

He sat down and curled up on the floor, hugging his knees close to his chest in attempts to stop the overflow of emotions that he was sure would break him. He wished he hadn't known.

He was alive, and they weren't.

What made them deserve a quicker death than him?

He started to cry again, and this time, he didn't stop. He was alone now.

Gamzee was completely alone, and he couldn't stand the fact that his friends had died.


End file.
